Why I don’t use CrossFit gyms

In a recent post on Chin Strapped, I wrote about the need to instill a love for fitness training in young people.

But a new study today into the financial stability of many Britons has exposed the flip side to the CrossFit argument.

And a company that charges as much as £200 per month is pricing out those at the bottom of society. Those who need that fitness community more than anyone.

Exertion vs Depression was off the back of a report into teenage depression. Over a third of young teenage women suffer, in many cases as a result of body image.

Some blame the media, and the likes of the “Beach Body Ready” campaign last year. But I’m a journalist and think education is better than balancing out the “Size 0” look with over weight models, or banning campaigns altogether.

I love CrossFit and the ideas behind the sport, and really think there’s a genuine place for competitive fitness in a society overwhelmed by an obesity epidemic.

One that costs the UK National Health Service £43bn ($55bn) every year.

But today a Money Saving Advice survey found that 17 million people in the UK have less than £100 in the bank, reports the Daily Mail.

In a day and age where over 1 million people in Britain use food banks because they can’t even afford a tin of beans, I can’t support a company that uses the ‘cool’ factor of today’s fitness industry to price out the riffraff.

While there’s no obvious connection between obesity and income, although the access to learning about health and well being is considerably reduces among lower social classes.

When the CEO of CrossFit Greg Glassman, does great lectures about the dangers of Coca Cola and refined sugars, yet allows affiliates to set monthly rates as high as £200 per month to be part of his community, it’s hard to see the real desire to influence change.

By pricing out those at the bottom of society, CrossFit does exactly what every industry tries to do, and filter out the rif raf so as to keep the brand ‘cool’.

This seems to fly in the face of every great idea Glassman puts forward. Dare I say it’s all talk?

CrossFit has build a community of mates, athletes, fitness addicts, and ordinary people who love to get chin strapped. Something regular leisure centre gyms at more affordable prices simply can’t provide.

For the fitness revolution to have a real impact on society, movements such as functional fitness and cross-training need to appeal to a larger demographic.

This is why Chin Strapped prides itself on the most basic ideas about fitness. Climbing, crawling, squatting, carrying.

It still doesn’t stop me grabbing a bar and knocking out an insane Fran time. Just saying.